Tyler Zeller ready to return for Cleveland Cavaliers

INDEPENDENCE -- Cavaliers teammates kidded Tyler Zeller that he looked like he went a few rounds with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Zeller returned to practice on Thursday, his first official day back after suffering from a fractured cheekbone and a concussion on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.

Ten days later, he's back on the court, wearing a protective, see-through mask. He still has a shiner under his left eye.

He passed all of the NBA's concussion protocol testing and is expected to play on Saturday against Dallas at Quicken Loans Arena.

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He said his face looks and feels better every day. It only hurts when someone touches it.

"You should have seen (my face), like, four days ago," Zeller said. "If you don't touch it, it doesn't (hurt). It's getting better every day."

He's no stranger to wearing a mask. While in college at North Carolina, he got hit in the nose and wore one.

"It's kind of tedious," Zeller said. "You've got to get used to it. It's definitely a change. They did a great job of making it. My vision isn't impaired too much. For the most part I can see.

"The key is you've got to make sure you wear it every time you shoot, every time you work out because it does change your perception a little bit."

The 7-foot, 250-pound Zeller said he's not sure how long he'll have to wear the mask. He got hit in the face a couple times while wearing the mask in practice and had no problems.

Zeller was injured after getting elbowed in the face by Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. After flying home from San Francisco, he didn't do much of anything for several days recovering from the concussion.

"That's when I started feeling better and felt normal again," Zeller said.

He said he had to pass all three stages of the concussion protocol test -- memory, balance and reaction -- before being allowed to resume playing.

"I failed the test a couple times before I passed it," he said. "Memory-wise I got it back quickly. It was the reaction time that I didn't get back for a while."

Zeller said he was frustrated being out for so long. The Cavs (2-6) lost all four games with him being out of the lineup.

"It's always frustrating when you've got to sit over there and can't really help your team, whether it's practice, games, cheering them on or whatever," he said. "(I'm) just excited to get back out there and play."

He seemed to be hitting his stride in the game he was injured. He had 15 points and seven rebounds against the Clippers.

Cavs coach Byron Scott said he's not aware of any minute restrictions being placed on Zeller.

Scott said the backup center was a bit rusty in practice.

"He went full-court, five-on-five," he said. "(There was) a little rust. He had a little trouble running up and down (on Wednesday). I expect him to play Saturday night."

Scott said Zeller's return will be a boost to the Cavs' struggling second unit.

"He'll try to pick up where he left off," he said. "The last game he played, he played extremely well.

"Just having him back will help. He's another big body who knows how to play. He's an integral part of what we do. He (makes) our rotation better."

He is averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the field in the four games in which he's played.

Quick shots

o Scott said he's constantly trying to find the right combinations with his rotation. "I'm just looking for pieces that fit, that work," he said. "I don't want to abandon our second unit. I don't want to go to an eight-man rotation. That's a last resort." There are only so many things he can do with his limited bench. "I have a few more buttons I can push," he said. "Pushing them doesn't mean they'll work."

o The Cavs, statistically the worst defense in the league, worked hard on that aspect of the game on Wednesday and Thursday. "There is not one specific breakdown," Scott said. "It's a little bit of everything. That's why we're going back to the drawing board and going over things step by step."

o Scott said Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Alonzo Gee are the only players giving consistent effort on the defensive end. He didn't mention Kyrie Irving. Irving definitely took notice. "Well, it needed to be said," Irving said. "It needed to be addressed."

o Foot Locker released Irving's latest commercial. "Any commercial I'm part of is fun," Irving said. "I like to mess with the directors and just enjoy myself."